I caught a fine example of a Cotton Mink and the next day from the same trap caught a normal Mink.

I thought that I would post photos of each so Everyone could see the difference.
The top Photo is a Cotton Mink


The second photo is a Normal Mink (The good Kind)

I wonder if this is the Mink version of a "Blue" Coon?? Does the cotton feature mean the pelt isn't quite full?

no, my understanding is that it is genetic,

Bob, Nope the fur is thick and the leather will prime up just fine, The difference is the under fur.

I am pretty sure that These two mink were littermates IE. Both young of year and caught in the same trap a night apart.

Yet one is Good the other is Cotton.

Same Genes ??
Same diet ??

Your guess is as good as mine.

Maybe it's a recessive gene? Or maybe it is more present in males or females?

Also, can't understand why then is the pelt docked?

Have seen it in Either sex.

I have caught them early in the season and late both.

A cotton mink is docked because the white underfur shows on the finished product and it doesn't look as rich and luxurious as a mink with dark underfur.

Dying the mink in the dressing process does solve that problem - but it is another step and an additional cost.

Looks like Crap when stretched for a garment. That white shows like a Turd in a Punch bowl.

LOL

Nancy said it much nicer than I did.

But some times you gotta tell it like it is.

Can't Grade them before you catch them LOL.


How ya been Nick? Its been a long time.

tt

I caught a cotton mink thirty-some years ago,and my fur buyer refused to buy it. I mentioned it to the mink rancher that I sold my rat carcases to,and he said it was caused by an enzime in the Carp the mink ate. I have no idea if this is fact,but I also have no reason to dispute his word. I would be interested to hear any knowledgable input as to the validity of this theory.

Charlie

I also have heard that the cotton mink is caused by eating fish. I don't know if I believe it or not. There is a lot of difference in the amt. of cotton different mink have. Some show it real well and others it is very hard to see. some may only have a very small area of the cotton underfur while others have lots of cotton underfur. It can be seen from the leather side of the mink also.

I have been told theyre anemic.

fresh water fish have a vitamin b inhibater in the meat so if a mink starts to eat to much fish it gets a vitamin b dificiancy which affects it's melatoin and melatonin is what gives the mink it's clooring in the underfur. mink ranchers can add extra vitamin b to their mink feed to over come this problem or else they feed ocean fish which don't have the vitamin b inhibator
The best mink pelts will have the same color of under fur as the guard hair. This is because when it's made into a coat and the wind blows you won't notice the color variations. If you had a cotton mink coat think how that would look when the wind blew on it. That white under fur would be flashing like a beakon on a windy day

Most, if not all, the cotton Mink I recall catching came from very near the Lake here.

I always figured they tended to run the shore dining mostly on any injured fish that had not met the slot limit on the Lake and had been released by fisherman.

I will normally catch at least one Mink here each fall that shows some sign of being cotton. They also seem to vary in severity.